Could AI cure cancer using nature's DNA? A London tech firm, Basecamp Research, harvests genetic information from organisms and microbes around the world. Its genome database - the world's biggest - will help supercomputers to create new products, from detergents to medicines. It's a bewildering new frontier, and it comes with big questions: who should own this valuable information? Who should benefit? And what could it unleash?
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The Documentary Podcast Folgen
Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. The best of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service. From China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines. Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.
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Folge vom 31.07.2025Controlling nature's data
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Folge vom 30.07.2025The JNIM branch of al-QaedaThe JNIM branch of al-Qaeda is one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups. It has firmly planted its flag in the Sahel. Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as a key battlefront for jihadists: around 50 percent of deaths from terrorism in 2024 were registered in the Sahel region alone, according to the Global Terrorism Index. JNIM is an eclectic yet united coalition, rooted in the tribal desert regions of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. We look into its leaders, its narrative, and its modus operandi, and analyse the complexity of a region beleaguered by military coups, ethnic violence, and climate change.Contributors: Barry Marston, Jacob Boswall Producer: Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg
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Folge vom 29.07.2025Can Greenland go it alone?Until this year Greenland rarely made the international news and probably only the islanders themselves took much time to contemplate their future. But then US President Donald Trump said he wanted to annexe it for its strategic position and mineral wealth. So the question has become a lot more pressing. With a population of just over 55,000, the biggest island in the world has its own parliament, but foreign policy is controlled by Denmark, something many residents are unhappy about.Denmark subsidises Greenland to the tune of around $10 000 per person per year. On an island where fishing is the primary source of income, independence would mean either increasing tourism or allowing the mining of minerals like rare earth metals. However the islanders have always favoured strict environmental controls when it comes to mining and it’s expensive for tourists. Hedi Nermin Aziz travels from Denmark to Greenland and talks to politicians, musicians and influencers about Greenland’s Innuit identity and to find out if it can and should go it alone.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
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Folge vom 28.07.2025Marina Tabassum: Designing London's Serpentine PavilionBangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum won the commission to create the 25th Serpentine Pavilion – a temporary summer structure for London’s Kensington Gardens. A meeting place in the Royal Parks, A Capsule in Time will also be used for literary and musical events. The arched wooden structure’s translucent panels allow dappled light through, like the South Asian Shamiyana awnings which inspired Tabassum’s design. Marina talks to Erika Wright about how she wanted make a space for the diverse people who use the parks in the summer. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.